Ok so I’ve never read the book seen the move or the show but I love apocalyptic stuff. I saw the book is 1,000 pages. Does it get slow? I’m not a huge reader unless something is really good but I may like this one and I have several trips coming up where I can read on the flight.
One of the best books I've ever read. And I really enjoyed both adaptations/miniseries! Though I like the first one with Gary Sinise and Molly Ringwald better than the second one. In any event, read the book first!
I’ve read three editions. And all of them were edited with pretty significant changes. I could be screwy but I’d swear the one I read in high school barely mentioned the lab in the beginning, and started in Hapscomb’s gas station with the fleeing serviceman from the lab and his family spreading it to Stu and co there, and more about Annie burying her parents while Harold nosed around. And a passage where they crossed the Mississippi River at a bridge within sight from my place that’s since been rebuilt that wasn’t in the others I read. I read two of them a couple of times. Just kinda checking to see if I’m having one of those Mandela oopsie daisies or not.
One of them had a more detailed breakdown of the attempted attack on Boulder that made the order on Trashcan’s life set in stone. Bunches of Las Vegas were changed. The one girl who escaped Flagg’s torture by seeing the shard of plate glass to end it with. Was I think in the one I read in high school. I don’t know. It’s kinda hard to know with so many years gone by and only one copy left that I still thumb through.
The TV movie beginning with the bio warfare lab getting infected while Don't Fear The Reaper is playing has really stayed with me all these years later.
Holy eff. Yeah, my own twelve year olds would have reacted the same way. Actually, my older probably would have gotten up and walked out of class to sit on the bench outside the room and completely shut down in an out-of-body experience in full panic attack, for 2-3 hours.
This literally happened to them once in seventh grade, when they were watching a movie about racism and how messed up skinheads are/were, and a black man who was crippled by am attack was literally describing how he was floating above the whole scene, seeing a young black man in the ground wing stomped to death, and thought, "Wow, that guy isn't going to make it. That looks painful." He was watching himself die. Our oldest literally got up with tears streaming down their face, walked into the hallway ("without getting a pass or asking to be excused!" Duh. Gee.... Do you think?) and sank onto a bench to stare silently across the hall for over an hour (through class changes, and everything).
We had a warning in their file - that all the teachers were supposed to know about - to tell us first if they were going to show something pte really upsetting to a social justice and caring-oriented empathetic pre-teen with crippling anxiety. Apparently, it never occurred to this social studies teacher that this movie and scene could be that upsetting to a child with autism and severe anxiety. WtaF? What the heck would be that upsetting then, Mr Professional? Wow. They couldn't go back to that class for days, without starting to shake.
I remember talking about that book with my friends who were also fans in our early 20s back in the 80s. We decided they could never make it into a movie because it would have to be something like six hours long. Then they made a miniseries for TV, and it was perfect! Very well cast, also.
I watched it on TV when it was first created. It was a huge deal, and popular! It was a miniseries, and awesome. Cool that it was also on VHS though. I'll bet you can get it on DVD nowadays.
Gary Sinese is one of the most frightening actors I've ever watched "trying to be scary". He regularly puts me on edge when he's not playing a sociopathic serial killer! That eerie, knowing, smirky smile? Yikes.
Among The Living is a really fun song when I figured out that it was is about The Stand. “I am the walkin’ dude”
13 YO me;wonder what the fuck they’re talking about.
16 YO ME; Oh….neat.
Yeah, I agree that “the stand“ was one of Stephen King’s finest works. What’s ironic is that he wrote it early in his career, and later when he was being interviewed, people would come up to him and say it was the best thing he had ever written. That made him feel rather upset, because, what author wants to hear that their best work was written 25 years ago?
I listened to the unabridged audiobook version and it was something like 45+ hours. Absolutely incredible, however this was in September of 2019. Didn’t age too well. It’s a masterpiece nonetheless.
I read it for the first time when I was a young teen. I've probably read it two dozen times since. Odd as it seems, I feel like my outlook on life has been shaped by that book.
It’s a masterpiece imo. I read it when it first came out and I reread it all the time. I’ve never seen the miniseries because I know it won’t be like the book and I already have pictures of the characters. It’s amazing.
I have a decades long tradition of rereading the extended version of the The Stand every summer. Damn if that beginning chapter hooks you in every time. Absolutely one of my favourite books, and my favourite of King’s novels— which has some strong competition.
The scariest thing to me was the people that managed to survive the plague but then were immediately killed by trivial things. A burst appendix, random accidents, the poor toddler that fell into a well
It’s been implied (in another book) that Satan is another of his names. Flagg appears or is mentioned in one form or another in a number of SK’s books.
Recently re-read The Stand after several decades. Astonishing novel. Justin Cronin's The Passasge is another horrifying book in the same vein. Would not recommend the follow-up novels, but that book made my hair stand on end
It's an amazing book. I enjoy watching both of the series but still not as good as what was written. The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton is another good one to check out, though I like The Stand better.
I recently watched The Andromeda Strain again. First movie I saw in the theater with my parents. Scary stuff for a kid, scary stuff for an adult. The Hot Zone is pretty scary too.
You can almost take the supernatural stuff out, because a big part of The Stand (like a lot of post-apocalyptic fiction) is that human nature will be the biggest issue after a decimating disaster. Good people will try to band together, but bad people will prey on them.
My guy, I'm on book 4 of The Dark Tower series and I'm on the seat of my drivers seat every time I listen to the damn book. And there is definitely "crossover" (more like honorable mentions) of The Stand and several other books and I adore it as much as Brandon Sanderson's crossovers with "Wit" so far. Lol
Cool thing about The Stand for me. I first read the book in June 1990 and read it corresponding to the exact day to day dates in the book till July or so. After that I spaced it out a bit since the dates were more spread out. So wild and excellent book
This was my sentiment when reading The Stand for the first time back in middle school. It still haunts me to this day. Genuinely, the stuff if nightmares.
King understands the nature of human evil so well. In his books, no mattter how bad things are, someody deliberately makes them worse. That feels accurate.
Real ancient earthen biological horrors on the left, brand new real manmade artificial AI horrors on the right, the ever ambiguous supernatural horrors in the middle feeling like an under appreciated middle child these days
I first read that book back in 1978 when I was in my senior year of high school. Omg. More than a few sleepless nights reading about a post apocalyptic society.
There are 2 mini series versions of The Stand by Steven King. 2020 & 1994.
I'm not totally familiar with him, although 'Duma Key' was extraordinary.
I listened to that audio book.
I'm going to check them out.
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u/yonatan1981 7h ago
I'm in the middle of the Stand. I find the plague apocalypse waaaaay more scary than the supernatural stuff later on.